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Wow! I only planned to keep it for my trip, now I don't want to get rid of it!

I purchased my Fujifilm a while ago now. I have had various cameras that mainly consisted of the little compacts which where great up to a point.

The catalyst for this purchase was a backpacking trip around Australia. I wanted a half decent camera that didn't cost the earth and I don't know anything about photography, so I didn't need masses of special features.

What I did want was a decent lense with a good zoom function. That is exactly what I got! The Fuji Finepix is brilliant, It takes really good quality photos, is sooper easy to use and has just enough features and functions for novices like me to play around with, without being too complicated!

I took some incredible and some shocking photos on my trip. (The shocking ones were down to me, not the camera.)

I feel like it is the perfect point and shoot coamera. You don't have to be worried about lugging a load of gear around with you, but it still has enough oomph, to capture those memories really well.

I find compared to a standard compact, it is a little bulky, but I think that is me being picky and after all, you can't have a great camera like this inside a compact body, so I think this is a great compromise!

I was planning on selling my Fuji when I returned home, but now I just want to hang on to it for day to day use because I love it so much!

I feel it is the perfect compromise between the really expensive proffesional cameras and the standard point and shoot compacts.

I don't think it would be the go for someone who was properly into proffesional photography, but I don't know about those really feature rich cameras.

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A great everyday camera

For 14 megapixels, and an 18x optical zoom this camera was a bargain. A great buy for someone in between the standard digital and high res SLR's.

The camera is attractive, it isn't too big, and it comes with a neck strap and lens cover just to keep it safe. The flash pops up on top by the flick of a switch and there are nine camera settings from automatic to manual and that isn't including the HD video. Easy to set by a small dial on the tp of the camera.

Photos can be viewed or taken by the lcd screen or through a ''look hole'' for precision and battery saving.

Unfortunately there is a downside. It takes double AA batteries, something I wasn't told when I bought the camera, and you get on average about 150 photos out of a Duracell pack, SO BUY RECHARGABLE BATTERIES. I have yet to buy mine, so i'm burning a hole in the duracell fund.

Another con, buy a case. I dropped my camera once, and it hasn't been the same. It's for your own reassurance, even if it looks bad.

And finally, despite all, the quality of photos are top notch, the super macro feature is a must try. Sometime it is hard to focus but with an amateur like me that comes with practise. Enjoy.

miss J

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i cant complain i love it for a starter to photography

images and video

This piece of equipment was great for me as i decided i wanted to take photography to another level and go up to a higher end camera to do so. The 14 mp images come out in great quality and really give you a good image to edit on whatever you like if you do desire to. The 18 times optical zoom is amazing and the image remains in good quality which is a rare factor on cameras.I wasn't disappointed with this camera at all and it made me feel like a pro. it also allows you too shoot movies which not all higher end cameras allow you to do as they are usually purely made for image.

viewing experienceWitht he 3 inch clear screen o the camera it is a good way to instantly view your photo's however this can also be plugged into your hd tv and you can view all your videos and photos on this. I was very happy when trying this out

NavigationThe navigation on the camera is easy to use and it is simple to look through all your photos and also easy to flick from picture taking to movie recording.

MemoryYou put your own sd card in this so you are able to choose how much memory you think you will use to suit your needs.

overalli cant complain i love it for a starter to photography

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great fujifilm digital camera with a great zoom.

I purchased this camera through Amazon and wanted to be able to take photos outdoors when walking with my daughter. I also wanted to use it for taking close up shots of the products I made for my business. I had a small compact digital camera which was good, but when zoomed in, the quality was terrible. I ended up buying this for £112 and received it a few days later.

The zoom:==========The zoom is amazing. I got a great photo of Jupiter at night a few months ago and the picture looked great. (obviously it was just a zoomed in bright light but it looked fab).When Hollie is running in the park and is far away, I can zoom in pretty close to her and the quality remains great.

The standard camera:====================Zoom in, flash off, the camera is great. I always always use the EVF (electronic view finder) which you look through to take the photo. You can just use the LCD screen if you want to, but I find I can concerntrate better and focus on what I want in the photo better as my eye is right up close to the image.

Inside:-----------This camera doesn't seem to work well inside. The photos aren't great quality in the dim light and with the flash on, everything around the focused image is dark. For example, we went bowling, and the quality looked that bad, it looked like I'd used a mobile phone. The flash made it look dark, but no flash was just poor quality.

Outside:----------This is where the camera excels. I take this wherever we go when we go out for the day because you never know if something pretty will catch your eye or if the place your going is beautiful. I have a daughter so I always have an excuse to take photos :).The quality is almost on par with a DSLR.

The look and functionality:=================This camera is black with a strange pattern which looks like raindrops splattered all over it. As you can see from the photo, it looks very similar to a DSLR camera and the zoom lens extends out pretty far when it's at it's maximum zoom level. You cannot take the lens off or change them. It's got an easy grip and has been moulded to fit into your hand when taking photos really well. The shoot button is on top and is easy to press when holding it. The LCD screen is 3inches wide and the quality of the photos on the screen is amazing. They look better on that little screen than when put onto the computer. At the bottom of the camera is where the 4 AA batteries are put. It is rather irritating to have to use batteries and the costs can mount up, but I buy them in discount stores to try to lessen the cost. The other function buttons of the camera are all to the right of the screen and on the top near the shoot button. The zoom slider is also at the front. It wraps around the shoot button for easy access.

My Thoughts:==================I really enjoy using this camera outside. It is brilliant for taking landscape photos and also photos of children. You can take brilliant photos with the macro feature which can take perfect photos of things a few centimetres away from it. If you wanted to take a photo of a flower up close, or of a butterfly etc etc, it would prove it's worth with the results. I do however feel letdown by how poorly it takes photos indoors. Maybe I need to mess around with the settings some more to get the best image quality, but I just can't seem to find the right one to get perfect indoor images.

I still give this camera 4/5 stars just because I do use it more outdoors anyway, so my little digital camera will do the rest of the work indoors.

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I am an art student, and have wanted a good quality camera for a long time. My parents bought me this for christmas, and as well as being cost effective, it is utterly fantastic. It has various settings and an incridible zoom.I have used it for a lot of my work and the pictures have come out amazing. I would definitely recommend it to those who want a good quality camera, at a cost effective price.

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Decent compact SLR style camera

Recieved this camera as a present from my girlfriend at Christmas.

Handling: The camera feels remarking small in the hand considering its large lens, but it's not small enough to carry in your pocket. It is well built with rubber grips for your right hand's fingers and thumb. The buttons are conveniently laid out and easy to press. There are dedicated buttons for Face Detection, Continuous Shooting and the Electronic View Finder.

The EVF is bright, clear and will appeal to those who like the traditional way of shooting rather than using the screen on the rear. The cameras menus are really easy to navigate and shouldn't prove a challenge for those who are used to compact cameras.

The camera is ready to take pictures within a couple of seconds of switching on and can zoom from one end of the lens to another in around three seconds. There are various methods of continuous shooting on the S2950. Top 3 takes up to three pictures when the shutter is pressed, final three takes up to 40 pictures but only the last three are recorded, long period takes as many as possible until the memoney is full. Top 10 takes 10 pictures when the shutter is pressed, top 20 takes 20 and AE BKT takes three shots each time the shutter is pressed. One shot is taken using the metered value for exposure, one under exposed and one over exposed by the amount set in the shooting menu.

Using the AA batteries provided the S2950 is capable of shooting approximately 300 images but if you require your batteries to last longer then Ni-MH batteries are capable of approximately 500 images and Lithium batteries are capable of approximately 700 shots.

Performance: The S2950 takes good pictures that are well exposed and colours are reproduced faithfully. Performance at both ends of the lens is impressive with plenty of detail retained throughout with no sign of lens flare, purple fringing or chromatic aberrations. When using both digital and optical zoom the camera takes pictures that look great for use on the web but are not suitable for large prints. Using Super Macro mode the camera can focus as close as 2cm which leads to pleasing close-up images.

The S2950 panoramic mode is excellent at stitching together the pictures taken and it is impossible to see where they have been joined. The whole process is made extremely easy with fantastic results.

Noise is not noticeable at ISO64 and ISO100 but it is starting to creep in at ISO200. Noise isn't too bad at ISO400 but some detail is starting to get lost. At ISO800 noise is very clear, with it getting worse at ISO1600 but images remain quite sharp. As expected at ISO3200 and ISO6400, noise is pretty bad, the image size is limited to 3Mb.

Video Mode: The S2950 can shoot HD videos at 1280 x 720 pixels, as well as 640 x 480 pixels and 320 x240 pixels VGAs, all at 30fps. Digital zoom can be used during recording, shooting at 3x the zoom the camera is set at before recording, for example, if the camera is at 9.6x and the shutter button is pressed, the zoom can reach up to 28.8x. Sadly it's not optical zoom and it skips from each stage rather than being smooth.

Verdict: The S2950 packs plenty of features, such as an electronic viewfinder, manual controls and large optical zoom which all combine to take pleasing pictures with ease. Noise performance above IS0400 isn't great and the zoom on videos is a let down. Overall the S2950 is a good introduction to compacts with large zooms or those who want an SLR style camera without the bulky size and bag of lenses all at a much lower price.

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We bought this camera and was thrilled with it! Perfect for our days out, special occasions and general use! Only down side is, within a month of purchase the top button to change the setting snapped off, so we are stuck on auto - lesson learned to keep receipts!! Other than that, cannot fault camera, brilliant quality photographs!

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All round good camera for the intermediate photographer

Hi recently bought this camera after getting board with by olympus which was way to fidly for a point and shoot style camera, when the camera arrived i found it easy to set up and was very impressed with the build quality and the feel of the camera in my hand. I found it incredibly easy to use and soon felt very confident in fidling with the various settings. One thing i have not been to impressed with is that it takes aa batteries and depending on what settings you have it on it uses them up fairly quickly however i did invest in a set of rechargable ones which seem to be better. Overall this is a brilliant camera for an intermediate photographer who is feed up with the boring point and shoots but doesnt want to spend a fortune on a full digital slr, or doesnt feel that they need all the various lences accoiated with a digital slr. Overall an amazing camera at a reasonable price.

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Good quality camera, ideal for enthusiasts.

This fujifilm FinePix was recently purchased to upgrade my three year old fujifilm digital camera. This FinePix S2950 is a really good quality camera, especially for such a low price.

The 14.0Mpix allows for fantastic quality shots, I have found that it is really good for capturing motion shots as well as close ups. The quality of close ups using the zoom feature is also good, although I have found that sometimes the shots are little wobbly if you zoom in to a high degree. Perhaps a camera stand would help to stablise shots. The large display means that it is easy to see your shots without having to connect to a computer first which I have found is ideal when showing friends and family your pictures if you don't have a computer handy.

I have found that the camera is a little bulky in comparison to my old compact camera but the battery life is so much better.

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Excellent, compact camera.

I've had this camera for about a month now, I have always loved taking photos and wanted to treat myself to a new digital camera. I chose the Finepix S2950 as I had read some good reviews, I think this is a lovely compact camera. It is a perfect size, not too bulky to carry around with you, and very lightweight. The screen is a good size and photos are displayed very clearly on them. I found that the flash works excellently, even in a pitch black room! I found that the automatic whitebalance doesn't always work too great, my pictures sometimes look a little blue, but this can be manually adjusted (after reading the manual). I enjoy taking pictures of friends and family and this camera offers everything a normal digital would but with some extra options! It takes AA batteries but I would have preferred it to have a Li-on battery. Still absolutely worth the pennies though!

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Great product for price!!!! some store sell for £130 GET IT

I purchased this camera a few months back and i have to say! the picture quality is fantastic!! the 18xzoom is fantastic for getting close up shots at concerts and events....and the hd quality video recording is absolutely fantastic!!

However i will list a few minor defects i found with this camera

1. the lighting quality on the flash can be quite bright and discolors the real thing....but this is something a few minor tweaks in the settings cant fix.

2. the battery's die FAST!!! so if you are getting this camera....get Very good batteries specifically powerful enough for a digital camera or rechargeable ones as you will get 7 pics out of a packet sold in a newsagents

3. the images can sometimes become slightly blurry when the flash isn't on...because im unbelievably fussy about this...i just open the flash and cover it with my finger if i don't want the flash in the picture....this for some strange reason really works!!! XD

Overall im happy with this camera especially when i printed out some of the pics and seen the picture quality on paper!! Beautiful!! also have a 100x200cm canvas printed with this camera and the quality is just as good as getting it taken professionally!!! for the price i would highly recommend!! XD

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Definitely a great buy!

The Fujifilm finepix x2950 has been one of the best cameras I've owned so far. I bought the product at an excellent price, it is well worth the money. It is great if you are interested in photography, especially for beginners. The camera can photograph professional, high-quality shots. Moreover, the battery is long-lasting which is great if you want to take it on holiday or on long journeys. I have found that the camera can charge pretty quickly which is another bonus, as it is pretty much an on the go camera. Although, I have found that the camera is slightly bulky so it is quite heavy to have to carry around compared to other cameras. But, I think this issue is outruled by the excellence of the features the x2950 provides. I would most definitely suggest that you buy the product. For me, it is a long-lasting camera. I haven't once needed to take it into repair.

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An amazing beginning camera for an unbelievable price. Highly Recommended!!

Around 11 to 12 months ago i finally decided to go for my newest interest "Photography". There was just such a large selection of different cameras and models and accessories to choose from and even after doing a lot of research i was quickly over whelmed. However i soon saw the 'Fujifilm Finepix S2950' In the Argos catalogue for £149.99. I first noticed its sleek professional look and array of features for beginners to experts to take advantage of.

From opening the box, you can first notice the array of help menus to point you in the right direction for beginners and basic and advanced set up of the camera its self and also the included 'Finepix' software package included. After removing the help contents you can see the camera well packaged and protected in a foam outer support to hold the camera in place and protect it from damage.

As a beginner i was optimistic and wanted to just get out there and shoot without having to fiddle with lighting and contrast settings. This camera has an easy to change shooting mood feature, which you simply turn the dial on top of the camera to change the shooting mode. By selecting the auto shoot mode, the camera will adjust the lens to focus and adjust the vast array of different effects e.g: lighting and contrast based on the environment your photographing. Which makes this easy to just pick up and point and shoot for beginners or if you want a powerful camera to take HD photographs.

The camera is coloured black and measures 8.1cm x 11cm x 7.3cm which makes it very easy to carry and doesn't get in the way if you want to use it at a party or day out. It has a very light weight feel. Weighing in at only 340g; which doesn't make it a struggle to handle and hold when using the camera. The camera also comes with a 18 x optical zoom, which gives a massive zoom which doesn't affect the quality of the picture. The camera also comes with a rubber grip which has been designed to hold perfectly in the right hand of the user providing a comfortable and secure fit.

Another amazing feature this camera has is the High Definition (HD) video recording with sound. The microphone surprisingly is very good at picking up sounds but sometimes can be hard to pick of some voices depending on how loud they speak. Also the zoom feature can be used while shooting in video; however the sound of the zoom is picked up by the microphone. While using the zoom in the video it's rather basic and gives a distorted look to the video.

Another great feature the camera uses is the smile and shoot feature, which i find works great when using the timer to take group photos and portraits of yourself and friends. Because of the smile and shoot feature, the camera won't take a photograph until a 'smile' is detected on the faces of the people in the photograph. This was designed to avoid the need to have to take retake photographs due to the well known problem of people not smiling in photographs. There is also another feature along the same lines called 'Blink Detection' which warns you if anyone has blinked so that you can re-take the photograph.

Also it's not just the Video capture that is HD ready. Each shooting mode provides and gives a HD photograph. Which means yes; the camera is full HD ready. The video capture on this can also be played back through the HDMI port on the camera providing even more HD functionality.

Finally the camera has a panoramic shooting mode, which is an amazing feature and gives users a creative mode to allow for an endless array of possibilities. This mode allows the user to shoot 3 full HD pictures which are then stitched together perfectly. After the images have been merged into one, it's impossible to tell there are 3 separate images. After viewing photos taking in this mode, it boasts a professional feel and looks like you have used a professional wide lens to take the photograph.

I really like this camera and i think this is a definite recommendation to anyone who wants to get into photography or if more intermediate and professional photographers want a camera to use as a mess around camera or to train up other budding photographers; it's definitely amazing value for money and worth the £150 price tag. The camera is easy to operate and can handle a large variety of different lighting conditions and environments. Its a simple open the box and your ready to go due the batteries already being included from Fujifilm. I highly recommend this product!

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A decent purchase for the money.

I own the Nikon P100 and my boyfriend has recently purchased the Fujifilm S2950. We both enjoy taking photographs but I think I take it a little more serious than Kevin. I spend a lot of time reading photography magazines and messing about with my camera, considering it a bit of a hobby. I saw the FujiFilm camera advertised in a magazine and thought it would be perfect for a beginner or just someone who wanted a decent camera but didn't want it to cost an arm and a leg!

We found the camera online at a really decent price and he bought it. I much prefer it, size wise to the P100. However the quality of the photographs produced by the P100 far weighs the ones by the Fujifilm and the £100 difference in price is definitely apparent. However we have had some fantastic results with it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a camera around the £150.00 mark.

*Price and availability*

The camera is widely available at all good stockists but the best price we have seen it for is £143.70 from Amazon with free delivery. The electrical retailer Curry's have it in stock for £199.99.

The camera is black and measures 8.1cm x 11cm x 7.3 cm. It is a thinner than my Nikon p100 and it is lighter. The S2950 only weighs 340g. It is surprising how small it is when it has such a huge lens with 18 x optical zoom.

The camera feels robust and is moulded to fit comfortably in your right hand with rubber grips for your fingers and thumb (Unlucky for Kevin, because like me he is a leftie!) The flash pops up out of the top. On the back are the controls with are dedicated buttons for Face Detection, Continuous Shooting and the Electronic View Finder. The electronic view finder is extremely clear. I prefer this style of shooting rather than looking at the screen because you can concentrate on what you see rather than what it looks like on screen.

I find the buttons easy to use and press and the camera menu easy to navigate round. Next to the control panel is the 3.0in LCD screen with 230K dot resolution. The screen looks really good quality and photographs and videos look great when played back on it despite it being only 230k.

The camera is powered by 4 AA batteries. This is the main downfall of the camera as they are only capable of shooting approximately 300 images. We have got through quite a few batteries which can be quite pricey. With my Nikon I can charge it up which eradicates this extra expense.

*Features*

Within a few seconds of switching on the camera has recognized it is on and is ready to take pictures. It has an 18x optical zoom lens which is a 35mm. This is equivalent of 28mm - 504mm and operated using an electric powered zoom lever. It is quite surprising how much detail can be captured from so far away and saves carrying around extra lenses! The zoom can be operated during video but it's use is minimal and the results are quite shaky when moving between stages and the noise of the zoom is picked up on the microphone!

Impressively the camera has a macro focus of 2 cm which means it can focus on anything 2cm away from the lens.

The camera has a mechanically stabilised sensor, high ISO sensitivity and Dual Image Stabilisation technology. These are great tools that help combat blurring due to shaky hands or movement in the shot. We have had some great results thanks to these features and think they really help in creating crisper images especially when the lens is used to its maximum.

Another feature to help get great pictures is the 'Smile and Shoot' mode. The camera recognises when the subject smiles and releases the shutter when this happens. This should prevent those awkward retake shots although we have not found it all that reliable. When we have been taking portrait shots the camera seems to recognise any mouth movement so when I started to talk it caught me pulling rather an unusual expression. It is a good tool though and we will persevere with it. Similarly there is a 'Blink Detection' feature which warns you if anyone has blinked so that you can re-take the photo.The camera is HD ready and can capture still photographs in HD. The video capture is 720p x 30fps. These looks good but the videos produced from my Nikon p100 at 1080p are much more impressive. This camera could have benefited from this. The videos and stills can be played back on a HD TV via a HDMI cable fitted into the HDMI socket on the camera. The cable is not supplied but can be bought for about £5.00, we already had one of these leads so we were able to try it out straight away.

The Panoramic shooting mode is by far my favourite feature as it gives you a chance to get creative and it is so easy to use. You can take successive shots and the camera stitches them together perfectly. We have played with this a few times and it is impossible to see the joins!

The camera shoots 1.2 frames per second which I find really slow. Sometimes I find the speed a little frustrating as I'm used to the P100 that shoots 10 fps. I like continous shooting, therefore I find the speed of the camera in this aspect a real let down.

I feel that Fujifilm have got some unnecessary features, for example, tagging pictures ready for uploading to face book. Instead of wasting money on gimmicks like this they should concentrate on features that are necessity to a good camera.

*Overall *

I like this camera and think it is really good value for money. Even in low lighting we have had some good results with minimal noise and there are some great features. The camera is easy to operate, light and comfortable to hold. It comes with 4 batteries so you are ready to go. It is a shame it doesn't come with a case but it does come with a shoulder strap.